Brokenwood Indigo Vineyard Chardonnay 2021

Beechworth can’t be far off earning a reputation for Chardonnay as prestigious as that of the Yarra Valley and Mornington if recent tastings from the region are anything to go by. This wine is a case in point. The fruit for this stunner comes from a Beechworth vineyard planted in 1999. The 20+ year old vines are producing fruit so fine and elegant that I expect many might mistake this for premier cru Burgundy in a blind tasting. The fruit aromas are pristine and delicate – grapefruit, lemon zest and white peach. Barrel fermented in 30% new oak shows up as a silky vanilla-scented cream. In the background is a lovely fresh hay and river pebble minerality. Such brightness on the palate with lifted pink grapefruit slices and lots of white nectarine; actually that undersells it, it’s a whole orchard of gently ripening stone fruit. Vibrant acidity and a delicate seashell salinity promise this has a long and remarkable life ahead of it.